TourBracketFree Tournament Bracket Generator

24 Team Single Elimination Bracket

Twenty four teams are drawn into a thirty two slot bracket, leaving eight byes for seeds 1 through 8. Sixteen teams play the opening round, the eight seeded teams join them in the round of 16, and from there it is a normal bracket.

At twenty three matches this is a long day on one court and a comfortable one on four. If you are running a field this size with mixed abilities, consider splitting it into two brackets of twelve rather than one of twenty four: two shorter draws finish faster and give more teams a meaningful match.

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How the draw is structured

24

Entrants

24

Matches played

6

Rounds

8

Byes

Round by round

RoundMatchesEntrants left after it
Round 1816
Round of 1688
Quarter-Finals44
Semi-Finals22
Grand Final11
3rd Place11

Opening round by seed

Seeds are paired so the strongest and weakest meet first, which keeps the top seeds in opposite halves of the draw. This is the order the board is drawn in, top to bottom.

Why there are 8 byes

A knockout bracket has to halve cleanly every round, so it is built at the next power of two above the field. 24 entrants are drawn into a 32 slot bracket, which leaves 8 slots empty. Those go to the top seeds, so seeds 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 sit out the opening round and enter in round two. If you would rather the byes fell at random, shuffle the seeds before generating.

How long it takes

Rounds run one after another, because a round cannot start until the one feeding it has finished. Matches inside a round can all run at once, so the number of courts you have decides the day more than the number of entrants does.

Courts10 min matches20 min matches30 min matches
14h8h12h
22h 10m4h 20m6h 30m
41h 20m2h 40m4h

Playing time only. Add changeovers, warm-ups and the gap between rounds.

Questions

How many byes are in a 24 team bracket?
Eight. The bracket is built at thirty two slots and the eight spare places go to seeds 1 through 8, who enter in the round of 16.
How long does a 24 team tournament take?
Twenty three matches across five rounds. On four courts with twenty minute matches that is roughly two and a half hours of play, plus changeovers.

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